The document summarizes challenges around free speech, privacy, and the internet. It discusses how personal information shared online through various platforms becomes linked and stored indefinitely. This can negatively impact people's jobs and reputations if embarrassing information surfaces. Examples are given of people who lost work or committed suicide due to online information. Proposed solutions like a "right to be forgotten" are critiqued for being difficult to implement and posing free speech issues. Alternative approaches used in other countries are mentioned. The challenges of regulating what is kept online given its vast scale are also noted.

1. Free Speech,
Privacy
& the Web
that Never Forgets

2. MPM 107 | SECTION 11
SARA ZAFRA
an introduction to the
article:
FREE SPEECH, PRIVACY AND T
HE WEB
THAT NEVER FORGETS
By JEFFREY ROSEN*
University and
* Jeffrey Rosen is a profes sor of law at The George Washington
author of The Supreme
the legal affairs editor of The New Republic. He the
, The Most
Court: The Personalitie s and Rivalries that Defined America
wanted Gaze. Rosen is a
Democratic Br anch, The Naked Crowd, and The Un
University, where he
graduate of Harvard College, summa cum laude; Oxford
w School.
was a Marshall Scholar; and Yale La
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so what is it all about?
Search engines, social
networking sites, newspaper
websites, (e.g. MySpace, Bing,
Google, Facebook, TigerText)
and other methods of
transmitting data (e.g. text
messaging, mobile apps) are all
linked in order for viewers to
browse the web conveniently
and easily.
,
Perso nal information In other wor
d
st ories, news, an information
ds, all this
ed
im ages are all link r ‘digital cloud
is stored in t
he
through ‘tags’, in orde the wireless
’ (referring t
o
for
to m ake searching body).
and digital
information s t.
straigh tforward and fa
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Main Points to Cover:
•the issue behind internet privacy and protection of
personal information
1.some examples of people who were negatively
affected
2.proposed solu tions to this problem of free speech
and privacy
ive
3.why these solutions are not always effect
4.examples of alternative solutions that have been
a
implemented in other countries outside of Americ
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why is this a problem?
is
Any information recorded There is no system
om or
stored and c an be viewed fr means to measure
the
anywhere. ‘acceptability’ or
‘tolerability’ of an a
r ction
Removing information, fo or behaviour (the
degree
one
example, a nd image, from of ‘offensiveness’ d
epends
ot
or several w ebsites does n on opinion).
entirely rem ove it from the
and there will There are no laws or rules that can control this
‘digital cloud’, g
always be some remainin growing problem, due to:
traces.
•the vast volume of information.
Harmful
•the enormous amount of people who are
ation
I nform affected
•the indistinct and ambiguous manner of that
which5is to be controlled

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what are the consequences?
Leads to:
•people losing jobs anions
d
people losing promot
a bad reputation that is
known worldwide
no privacy: everyone can
have access to your personal
information, images, etc.
leads to ‘tangible’ and
‘dignitary’ harms
image source: http://washingtonindependent.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/unemployment.jpg
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examples of people who were
affected
Image Source:
Teachers' Virtual Lives Conflict With Classroom
abc News: http://abcnews.go.com/TheLaw/story?id=4791295&page=1#.UHmcVhiViNU Stacey Snyder
“Snyder, then 27, claimed in a federal lawsuit
scheduled to go to trial Tuesday that Millersville
University refused to give her a teaching credential
after school administrators learned of a photo on her
MySpace page labeled "drunken pirate."
She said school officials accused her of promoting
underage drinking after seeing the photo, which
showed Snyder wearing a pirate hat and drinking out
of a yellow cup.
Those pages, similar to those of thousands of 20-
somethings who grew up with their lives displayed
online for all to see, can carry consequences.
Teachers in several states have been suspended or
fired for their online profiles, leading some school
districts to begin crafting policies to regulate the
virtual lives of their employees.”
- quoted from the article: Teachers’ Virtual Lives Conflict With
Classroom by Scott Michels, May 6 2008
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examples of people who were
affected
Video Source:
Albert Arnold
Al Gore Sex Scandal
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KZrmmD8z0GY
"Al" Gore, Jr.
•He served as the 45th Vice
President of the United States (19
93–2001), under President Bill
Clinton.
•Molly Hagerty, 54, a Portland
massage therapist claims that the
former Vice President Al Gore
sexually assaulted her.
QuickTime™ and a
decompressor
are needed to see this picture. Implications
“Gossip that used to be spoken
is now written down and has to
be responded to, a
transformation that is also
challenging the distinction
between low and high press.”
- quoted from the article: Free Speech,
Privacy, And The Web That Never
Forgets by Jeffrey Rosen
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examples of people who were
affected
Video Source:
YouTube : Rutger’s Student Death: Why?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7YlWf9X_I4&feature=related
Student Commits Suicide
“This is the tragic case of the
young Rutger’s student whose
roommate turned on a webcam in
their shared dorm and live-
broadcasted his dorm room
intimacies.
The young man was so upset that
QuickTime™ and a
decompressor days later he committed suicide.
are needed to see this picture.
Rutgers students are debating
whether a five year sentence is
too harsh, but few people are
disputing that extreme sexual
surveillance should be actionable.”
- quoted from the article: Free Speech,
Privacy, And The Web That Never Forgets
by Jeffrey Rosen
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Q : How do we control what
information is shown on the
web?
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proposed solutions for the US:
Idea #1
‘A right to oblivion.’ How would it wo
r k?
•A right to be forgotten. “You would need
an
international tribun
al of
“Google and Yahoo should not forgetfullness to ad
judicate on a
be allowed to index the picture case-by-case basis
what pictures
even if they want to, and they had to come up an
d w ha t c a m e
should have to pay you damages down.”
if they index the picture in ways - quoted from the
Q : Who decides
article: Free Speec
that cause you moral harm.” Privacy, And The W
Forgets by Jeffrey R
eb That Never
h,
what is offensive and
ch,
- quoted from the article: Free Spee osen
Privacy, And The Web That Never what should be
Forgets by Jeffrey Rosen
taken off the web?
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what’s wrong with this solution?
Idea #1 French data protection president, Alex Türk,
‘A right to oblivion.’ proposed that ‘you should be able to remove
embarrassing information about yourself.’
•A right to be forgotten.
“Google and Yahoo should not “This is an extremely French notion. In America we want to
be allowed to index the picture be remembered; the French want to be forgotten.
even if they want to, and they ...
should have to pay you damages
if they index the picture in ways If forced to choose right now, without more details, would
that cause you moral harm.” you endorse a legally enforceable right to oblivion or do you
ch, prefer the free speech side?”
- quoted from the article: Free Spee
Privacy, And The Web That Never - quoted from the article: Free Speech, Privacy, And The Web That Never
Forgets by Jeffrey Rosen Forgets by Jeffrey Rosen
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proposed solutions for the US:
Idea #2
The Four Brandeis Torts
been invaded could
That is, a person whose privacy has
torts still exist today,
sue the invader for damages. These
branches:
and are contoured as four separate
electronic
1. Intrusion of solitude: physical or
intrusion into one’s private quarters.
the
2. Public disclosure of private facts:
mation which
dis semination of truthful, private infor
nable.
a re asonable person would find objectio
Louis Dembitz B ich place a
randeis 3. False light: the publication of facts wh
facts
•Was an Associate Justice on person in false light, even though the
the Supreme Court themselves may not be defamatory.
of the
United States from
1916 to use of a
1939. 4. Appropriation: the unauthorized
me benefits.
person’s name or likeness to obtain so
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what’s wrong with this solution?
Idea #2 1. Brandeis’ famous article on the right to
The Four Brandeis Torts privacy in 1890 was a reaction to the
technology used at the time: the instant
been invaded could
That is, a person whose privacy has camera and the tabloid press.
torts still exist today,
sue the invader for damages. These
branches:
and are contoured as four separate
• They pose problems for free speech.
electronic
1. Intrusion of solitude: physical or
intrusion into one’s private quarters. 2. “Trying to identify who is a public figure
the and who is not is increasingly elusive.”
2. Public disclosure of private facts:
mation which
dis semination of truthful, private infor
a re asonable person would find objectio
nable. • “The sheer scope of gossip is so extreme
that the idea that law could constrain it is
ich place a
3. False light: the publication of facts wh more implausible than ever.”
facts
person in false light, even though the
themselves may not be defamatory.
use of a
4. Appropriation: the unauthorized
me benefits.
person’s name or likeness to obtain so
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examples of alternative
solutions
France & EU:
- Has proposed a r
Argentina: be forgotten: requ
ight to
ires
search engines to ig
- Has cases p ending to force nore
to tagged results.
to remove or
search engines nt.
block offensive conte
Japan:
- Social networking accounts in Japan are
‘pseudonymous’.
- People rarely use their real names, so if your
friend is genuine and real, you have the option to
share you pseudonym.
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comments from the
opposition
Video Source:
Google CEO Eric Schmidt on Privacy
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A6e7wfDHzew&feature=related
QuickTime™ and a
decompressor
Google CEO Eric
are needed to see this picture. Schmidt on Privacy
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